Equipment handling/repair stands have proven useful to original equipment and automobile manufacturers, as well as to independent mechanics active in the repair of automobiles and industrial equipment. In general, an equipment handling/repair stand provides access to equipment in need of repair or maintenance and includes a base, a support extending from the base, and an equipment mount coupled to the support. During use, a piece of equipment, such as an automotive engine or transmission, is lifted in place and bolted to the equipment mount. A hoist or other lifting device is employed to lift especially heavy parts up to the equipment mount portion of the equipment stand. In other cases, two or more people lift, hold, and support an automotive part until the part is secured to the equipment mount. Those with experience in using such equipment handling/repair stands understand that care must be taken to avoid bodily injury that can occur in the lifting, or in the accidental dropping, of the part during the mounting process.
Equipment handling/repair stands maintain and support the automotive part for access by a mechanic. Some equipment stands permit the automotive part to be rotated about the support. For example, one known equipment stand is useful for supporting a boat motor. The boat motor is attached to a horizontal equipment mount coupled to a vertical support of the stand. The vertical support can be rotated for improved access to the boat motor housing, or rotated for access to the boat motor prop. However, the range of motion of the vertical support is limited, and the horizontal equipment mount obstructs access to the boat motor housing.
Equipment stands are useful for supporting the weight of automotive parts such as engines and transmissions, and permit a mechanic to work on, and safely and conveniently access, the part. However, the known equipment stands have the disadvantage of requiring at least one person, and often two people, to lift the automotive part up to a horizontal equipment mount portion in attaching the automotive part to the equipment stand. In addition, even after the automotive part is attached to the equipment stand, the equipment mount portion obstructs access to at least a portion of the automotive part. Moreover, during use, the known equipment stands fail to provide complete access to all surfaces of the automotive part. With this in mind, improvements to equipment stands would be welcomed by original equipment manufacturers and independent mechanics.